Aviva Investors, Ripple, Launches Tokenised Fund

Aviva Investors has launched a tokenised share class for the Aviva Investors US Dollar Liquidity Fund, allowing investment in the fund in tokenised format, on the XRP Ledger.

The firm says the launch marks the first tokenisation of an Aviva Investors fund, and follows the announcement of the partnership between the firm and Ripple early in the year – the launch was supported by Komainu who provided regulated institutional digital asset custody, with tokenisation infrastructure provided by Licuido.

The tokenised fund will be available on the XRP Ledger, and the firms say investors will benefit from the same investment objective, risk profile, liquidity characteristics and regulatory protections as the conventional fund, alongside enhanced operational features enabled by tokenisation.

As part of the launch, the new tokenised share class has also been approved by the Central Bank of Ireland, marking a regulatory first with regards to tokenised fund structures, the firms claim.

The Fund, which was initially launched in its ‘traditional’ structure in 2020, targets low-risk returns and daily liquidity by offering investors exposure to high-grade US dollar-denominated short-term debt instruments. The new share class will be available to eligible investors with digital wallets, with all assets held by the fund’s custodian, The Bank of New York Mellon. The structure has been designed to operate within existing regulatory frameworks, providing a scalable foundation for future innovation in fund distribution and market infrastructure.

The XRPL, will enable Aviva Investors to issue and manage the tokenised share class of the USD Liquidity Fund using blockchain transactions, in an energy efficient format. It offers a set of features, including compliance capabilities, designed to support financial institutions operating in regulated markets.

“This is a landmark moment for fund tokenisation,” says Nigel Khakoo, SVP, trading and markets, Ripple. “Aviva Investors has demonstrated that it is possible to bring a regulated, institutional-grade tokenised product to market on live infrastructure, with real investor protections in place. The XRP Ledger was built for exactly this kind of application, and we expect this launch to set a strong precedent for other asset managers looking to explore tokenised fund structures.”